The more we pay attention to the rights of our compatriots in the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM), the more it becomes clear that this is not a bilateral problem, President Rumen Radev told journalists in Vukovar, Croatia. The head of state is on an official two-day visit to the country.
The more Bulgaria explains its position, the more we pay attention to the rights of our compatriots in the RSM, the more understanding we meet and the more it becomes clear that this is not a bilateral problem, but a problem of the RSM leadership, which Skopje must solve with the European institutions and finally fulfill the Copenhagen criteria for membership and the agreements that the RSM government took on in 2022, Radev commented.
We had very meaningful talks with Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Zoran Milanović on a very wide range of issues of bilateral relations and regional problems. The Republic of North Macedonia was the topic of our conversation. I would like to thank Croatia for its understanding and support for the situation with the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia, Rumen Radev also said.
Bulgaria is not stopping the Republic of North Macedonia on its path to membership in the European Union (EU), Rumen Radev said yesterday. The Republic of North Macedonia is stopping itself because it still does not want to fully fulfill the Copenhagen criteria for membership, the president added. It is very clearly written there that one of the main criteria is non-discrimination and human rights. We have a clear consensus, adopted in July 2022, by both the Bulgarian government and the government of the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as by all EU member states, Rumen Radev commented.
President Rumen Radev visited the Bulgarian Military Cemetery in Vukovar today, where he paid tribute to the memory of the Bulgarian officers and soldiers who died in the final phase of World War II. He also visited the Memorial Cemetery in Vukovar for those who died in the Croatian Patriotic War.